Indian court bans plastic flags

The Orissa High Court in Cuttack, India, has banned use of national flags made of plastic.

The court ordered strict implementation of the Flag Code of India, which was passed in 2002. It specifies that the Tricolor should be made of natural cloth or paper in standard sizes.

The court was responding to the petition that raised objections to rampant use of plastic flags on Independence Day and Republic Day.

"With a sense of national pride, people enthusiastically buy such flags, but the very next day, we find those flags lying strewn on the roads, in dustbins and elsewhere, and being trampled under the feet. Often, these flags are burnt along with garbage," the petitioner stated.